Love in Hunter HQ
by Aria6
Summary: A short, oneshot fic I came up with about X finding someone to love. This is not yaoi.


_It was totally unsuitable._

_I'd tried to tell myself that a thousand times, but it wasn't taking. Everyone said I should find a love interest. I'd tried. God knows I tried! The last one was Alia, and it just didn't work out. She didn't know why, but I did._

_You'd think I could forget her. No, not Alia. The other girl, the one girl who never noticed me as anything but… me. Not Rockman X, the savior of the world, but just… X. She didn't even know who I really was for a week, which is just unbelievable, but it shows you how oblivious to the rest of the world she is._

_Oblivious.__ That's a good word to describe her. She firmly believes that the mind only has enough space for so many things, so why clutter it up with the unnecessary? Like news reports. Like my affections._

_I shouldn't be trying to date her. And 'trying' is the right word for it. She seems to like the attention but she's not taking it seriously. As if she doesn't think anyone could ever be interested in her. Could she really be that blind? Well, she's an orphan so maybe she can be… but that's not why I shouldn't be doing it. No, she's human and I'm a Reploid._

_I hate to admit to anything that sounds bigoted, but there are some good reasons Reploids don't date humans. The weight difference, for instance, can make sex complicated. One the other hand, as long as the human is on top… augh! Dirty thoughts! But it's such a nice picture…_

_But it's more than that. Humans usually want babies sometime and that's not something Reploids can do. There's adoption, though. Hmm, maybe the problems aren't that bad. But there's also the Maverick virus. Not many humans want to date someone who might suddenly decide to crush their skull._

_But she wouldn't worry about that. She just doesn't know I want her. Maybe I should just tell her. Yeah, that's it… just come out with it. God knows she always says what's on her mind! It's a good thing she's not at all catty or that candor would be bitchy instead of sweet. I could have thousands of girls, or guys, more action than anyone but Zero if I really wanted. But I can't get her out of my mind._

_Mmm__ I'll always remember the first day I saw her…_

It started when she met Zero. Zero was anything but amused.

"What a lovely lot of hair!" A cheerful voice came from behind the blond hunter. "May I touch it?" She extended a hand to hover over the mentioned hair, smiling cheerfully. Zero favored her with an annoyed look, and X turned around to see who had the temerity to ask.

He tilted his head, realizing he didn't recognize her at all. Short brown hair in an unflattering cut framed a face that was pleasant and open. Her nose was a bit big, and she was wearing coke-bottle lenses that made her eyes look huge. The color of her eyes was odd… a rim of brown at the center, green as a main color, and then a rim of blue around the edges. The frame of the glasses was in a fairly old, blocky style, probably made necessary by the thickness of the lenses. Her figure was a bit dumpy… not unpleasant, but a bit thick around the middle. She was wearing a t-shirt and ratty blue jeans, but covered with a brown smock similar to what a painter might wear. It was splattered with oil, Reploid vital fluids, and what looked uncomfortably like blood. Not that that was surprising, with the insignia of the Fourteenth heavy metal division embroidered in the upper right hand corner of the smock.

There was another piece of embroidery in the upper left hand corner, though, and it was of the Lost Labs. X quickly deduced that this was a research scientist who sometimes did repairs. Lost Labs wasn't an official unit, but the logo was used to keep their researchers from being co-opted into making repairs constantly. They were always willing to contribute in emergencies, but some units had abused the privilege.

"Are your hands clean?" Zero asked suspiciously, and she turned it palm up for inspection. "…Oh, alright. But no braiding it." Zero tried to look dignified as she touched his hair with a delighted smile.

"This is wonderful! What shampoo do you use?" she complimented him, and Zero shrugged as X hid a grin. Zero's lack of care for his wonderful hair had driven many women to distraction.

"Just shampoo. It's my natural glory." He shook his head, dislodging her hand. "Now, I've got to get back to work. Coming?"

"In a minute." X found her charming, and smiled at the researcher. "What's your name?"

"Vivian," she answered promptly. "But everyone calls me Viv. What's your name?" X blinked. He couldn't remember the last time he'd met someone who couldn't recognize him on sight.

"Ah… I'm X, and this is Zero." He found his hand being energetically pumped as Abby beamed.

"Nice to meet you!" Then she dropped his hand and seized Zero's to give him the same treatment. "I'm new here, so I'm just trying to meet people." Her smile was dazzling, and X revised his initial estimate of her beauty. She really wasn't pretty, but the sense of vitality and happiness she radiated made her lovely.

"Really? Where did you come from?" The Maverick Hunters recruited from all over the world, and her English had an odd sound to it. Zero gestured at X to catch his attention, then waved a hand toward the practice rooms. X nodded at the unspoken message. _I'm going to go practice. Join me when you're done, alright?_

"Oh, I'm Swedish. You might have heard of it… I used a prototype force field generator to defend my home?" X frowned, and then blinked. He actually had heard of that. The force field had held off a roving band of Mavericks, piling blast after blast into it, for nearly ten minutes. Not long but long enough for a team of Maverick Hunters to massacre them, with a bit of help from the mansion's defenders. A better-armed group of humans in a private home could not be imagined. "Alas, there are some problems with it… well! It lasted long enough even if it did explode in the end." She bounced on the balls of her feet, pleased at the effect. X smiled at her enthusiasm.

"What are you working on now?" That question opened the floodgates, and she detailed her current experiments and designs. X listened with pleasure. He understood what she was saying, so it didn't bore him the way it would have Zero, and her energy was infectious.

Finally, X reluctantly pulled himself away, but not before getting her number and door code. She wasn't self-conscious like so many fangirls, but she wasn't deliberately trying to win him, either. She just treated him like a person.

It was hard to get that kind of treatment from girls…

_And that was how we met. Yes, she wasn't the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen… but she was up there on the top ten of most personable._

_Zero didn't like her, and he still doesn't. He says she's a techno-weenie, which is true I suppose, but it's still unkind. He says her enthusiasm makes him uncomfortable, and I guess I can see that. But I enjoy it._

_Zero's dislike means I can't talk to him about her, though. And I can't talk to Alia. That would just be cruel, talking to a past girlfriend about my current interests. Signas? Never. Axl? Well… maybe. He doesn't date much though. Still a kid at heart, I suppose. Cinnamon? No. Marino? Ugh. Spider? Double ugh. Massimo? A possibility, but we're not good friends. Dr. Cain? Not in a million years._

_So I just have to cope with it myself. But… I think I need to stop lying to myself. I'm going to try to win her over now. What should I start with? Chocolates? Flowers? Bad poetry? Heh, it'll be really bad if I try that, my poetry is terrible._

_I really hope she notices me…_

"Eee, X!" X found himself being hugged enthusiastically from behind. "Thank you!" X turned around to find Viv there. Fortunately, she was in civilian clothes, not her heavy duty apron. If she had been wearing that, she would have smeared him with unmentionable things.

"You're welcome." X found he was blushing. Viv's hugs didn't really mean much, she was a very huggy person, but he still vastly enjoyed it. He was rather disappointed when she let him go. He blinked as he noticed what Vivian was wearing… a very lacy, frilly blouse with red glass beads and a matching red skirt. The outfit made her look far more shapely and feminine than her unflattering lab coats. "You look wonderful, too." Viv blushed at that, and shook her head.

"I'm not pretty… but I just bought this. You think it looks good?" She turned around to give him the full effect, then looked back with a shy smile.

"Beautiful," X said sincerely, which made her blush again. "Uh… would you like to go for coffee?" He winced to himself. That wasn't a good way to ask for a date, but it was 2PM, too late for lunch and too early for supper. Vivian beamed.

"I'd love to! Starbucks is right around the corner. I LOVE their raspberry frappuchinos." She sighed in pleasure at the thought, then bounced off. "This is the fastest way!" X grinned, and followed. He was sure she wasn't thinking of this as a date, but it was still a good start.

As the weeks went by, he kept trying to date her. It wasn't very easy. Vivian seemed unable to recognize his interest, or unwilling to. She persisted in viewing his interest as friendship.

Until the poem.

X had finally bitten the bullet and tried some bad poetry. It actually came out fairly well, considering his lack of any genuine skill. He wasn't expecting the reaction he got, though.

Vivian came to him with tears in her eyes, obviously upset and trembling. Her voice almost broke as she asked, "X, are you making fun of me?"

"Fun of you?" X asked, stunned. "Of course not!" She sniffled, and he hesitantly touched her shoulder. "I… I like you, Viv. I really like you a lot." She looked at him doubtfully, then shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"You can't like me…" Tears filled her eyes again, and X held her close, confused and puzzled. "I'm ugly and clumsy and… and… dirty and…"

"Vivian!" X touched her cheek, shocked that she would say such things about herself. "That's not true. Who said that to you?" She tried to look down, but he put his hand under her chin, making her look at him.

"My father." She said very softly, and X's free hand clenched. How a father could say that to his daughter…

Then something horrible occurred to him. It would explain so much about her, if it was true. X gently cuddled her close, reaching up to stroke her hair.

"Viv… did he do something to you?" If it was true, she would understand what he meant. She sniffed, and nodded weakly. X took a deep breath, stifling the rage he felt at that revelation. "I really like you, Vivian… please, can we date? Please?" He couldn't keep the wistfulness from his voice, and Vivian smiled.

"X… Yes. I'd love to date you." She hugged him tightly, sniffling. "I just never thought you could want me…"

_Isn't it strange how things work out? All the time I was trying to make her notice me, she thought I wouldn't want her. That I was just trying to be a friend._

_It's still not easy, dating her. Her father's dead, which is probably just as well, because if he was still alive I might hunt him down and kill him. Screw the three laws. But that wouldn't do me any good or make Vivian happy, so it's probably just as well he's already gone. The kind of damage he did to her is never really fixed, though._

_I do love her though. She's wonderful, sweet and kind. Most of all, she still sees me as just… me. That's the most precious thing about her to me. I don't know if it will work out in the end, but I'm glad I tried. Very, very glad._

_Love you, Viv._


End file.
